Maldinis, Schmeichels, Thurams - Fathers and sons who have won the same trophies

©TM/IMAGO

Many players have followed in their father’s footsteps by embarking on a career as a professional footballer. A famous idiom states that “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” and it’s certainly applicable to some football families. It can be an unenviable task for some sons to emulate the achievements of their dad but the opposite is also true.

Romeo Beckham’s career will never be as decorated as his dad David, Enzo Zidane didn’t possess the talent of his legendary father Zinédine and Gheorghe Hagi is more renowned than his son Ianis. But Erling Haaland has already surpassed the achievements of his father Alf-Inge with both players pulling on the shirt of Manchester City - Alf-Inge never lifted silverware. Some players, however, have almost followed directly in the footsteps of their fathers by winning the same trophies in their career. Marcus Thuram was the latest player to complete that achievement on Monday night and we’ve looked at fathers and sons who’ve won the same trophies. 

Famous fathers and sons winning the same trophies

Inter Milan sealed their 20th Serie A title on Monday in iconic fashion after beating rivals AC Milan at the San Siro. One of the main protagonists in the celebration was French international Thuram, who won the Scudetto in his first season after joining Inter from Borussia Mönchengladbach. Marcus’ father Lilian retired with iconic status and he remains the second most-capped French international with 142 caps, winning the World Cup in 1998 and Euros in 2020. Lilian spent the majority of his career in Serie A, winning the title twice in 2001/02 and 2002/23 with Juventus, which was matched by Marcus on Monday.

Peter Schmeichel is widely regarded as Manchester United’s best-ever goalkeeper and one of the best in English Premier League history. The Great Dane famously won the Euros with Denmark in 1992 and he claimed five league titles at Old Trafford. His son, Kasper, also lifted the Premier League trophy in arguably the biggest shock in English football history when Leicester won the title in 2006. 

The most iconic footballing family is undeniably the Maldinis. Three generations of the family - Cesare, Paolo and Daniel - all turned out for their beloved AC Milan. Quite incredibly, Daniel emulated the achievements of his father, Paolo, and grandfather, Cesare, by helping AC win the Scudetto in 2021/22. He’s still some way off the achievements of his family members with Cesare winning Serie A four times as a player and Paolo seven. 

Diego Simeone remains one of the most revered managers in Europe for his achievements at Atletico Madrid. The Argentinian also enjoyed a decorated playing career and he won Serie A in 2000 with his son Giovanni also achieving that last season with Napoli. George Weah won the Balon D’Or in 1995 and although his son Timothy won’t replicate that achievement, both father and son lifted the French title with PSG.